


The Co-Bedding Series: NCIS - 4 In the Bed

by serendipityxxi



Series: Co-Bedding: Team Snuggles [1]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen, Snow, Team Feels, Team Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-20
Updated: 2015-01-20
Packaged: 2018-03-08 08:24:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3202328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serendipityxxi/pseuds/serendipityxxi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>McGee has a bad day. The team cuddles together to preserve warmth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Co-Bedding Series: NCIS - 4 In the Bed

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Disclaimed.
> 
> Part of the "Co-Bedding" team cuddle-fic series.

Special Agent Tim McGee was not having a good day. He was cold, he was wet, he was stranded in the woods in the middle of nowhere and it was still snowing.

“Cheer up, McGee, Gibbs’ll find us,” Abby chirped at his side. She threaded her arm through his and rested her cheek against his shoulder briefly. Abby had insisted she come along on this fruitless trek out to the dead marine’s cabin, she’d declared she had a bad feeling about them going off on their own. Turns out she’d been right, they’d found nothing of interest at the cabin.

McGee gave her a wan smile as he kept trudging on trying to ignore Tony.

The storm had come up without warning, it took out their GPS and even Ziva’s tracking skills were no match for the snow that covered everything silently and swiftly until no trace of their previous trail could be found. They were hoping to find the cabin again, they couldn’t be that far away.

The worst part was that Tony wouldn’t stop singing. He’d gone through a whole medley of tv theme songs even some that didn’t have lyrics starting with the song from Cheers (to warm up when Ziva wished for some whiskey), and now after Abby’s comment he’d started on the Baywatch theme song.

Tony got to the chorus. McGee at the end of his rope yelled, “Tony would you just stop!”

He may have put his foot down in emphasis but he did not stomp like a four year old having a tantrum, no matter what anyone said afterward. The ice beneath the snow was not aware of the difference. It cracked, splintered and plunged him into the river it hid. For long moments everything was cold and watery and dark and McGee didn’t know which way was up, then a hand was grabbing onto his wrist and hauling him out of the water into even colder air that stabbed into his lungs like needles.

McGee gasped and sputtered and panted, feeling like a landed fish. When his vision finally cleared he found Tony on the ice next to him and Abby and Ziva hovering anxiously nearby.

“Oh, Timmy,” Abby cried when she saw his eyes focus. She threw her arms around him, totally ignoring the drenched state of his clothes.

“I’m okay, Abs,” he coughed.

“Can you stand, McGee?” Ziva asked and though she hid it well, McGee heard the worry in her voice as well.

“Yeah,” he coughed.

He and Tony staggered to their feet and moments later Tony was almost knocked back down as Abby threw herself at him. “Tony, you saved McGee!”

Tim did not smirk at his Senior Field Agent, mostly because his teeth were chattering too hard.

Ziva cleared her throat and when they looked she was pointing to the bridge they’d crossed two hours ago when they left the cabin.

They carefully found where the half frozen river ended and solid earth began and stuck to that as they slogged along, McGee was sure his underwear had frozen and he’d never feel his ears again by the time they made it to the bridge. He was finding it difficult to keep putting one foot in front of the other as they crossed it. He was so cold, his teeth chattered like castanets. Tony had gotten drenched hauling McGee out of the water and wasn’t much better off.

As they neared the cabin, Tony started to cough making Abby’s eyes go wide with worry. McGee knew she was thinking of how badly scarred Tony’s lungs were from the plague. He sent up a fervent wish that Gibbs with his freakish sixth sense for his wayward team would find them soon.

 

By the time Ziva kicked in the door of the cabin Tony was shivering so hard his teeth clacked together. McGee felt like his brain had gone numb from the cold. He and Tony sagged tiredly against the door.

The cabin was an old fashioned wooden building. There was no food or running water but it was a vast improvement on the great outdoors at this moment. Also in its favour, there was an enormous bed and a fireplace. There wasn’t a lot of firewood but it would be enough for right now. Ziva was the one who knelt and began to get a fire going in the hearth. McGee remembered learning to make fires as a Webelos, he wondered where Ziva had learned.

“We should set up some kind of signal for Gibbs,” Tony stammered out through clattering teeth.

“The fire will do that,” Ziva assured him. “They’ll be able to see the smoke from the chimney and will know where to come and get us.”

“Oh,” Tony said stupidly.

Abby moved to the back of the cabin, and wrenched open the small chest of drawers. McGee knew what she’d find in the second drawer, he’d searched it himself earlier.

Abby flung the sweats from the drawer at Tony and McGee. Then she began to pull off Tim’s coat.

“Ow! I can still feel my arms,” he protested.

“I’m only saving you from frost bite, McGee,” she glared. Beside him Tony snickered, still propping up the wall, the sweats clutched in his hands.

Once they were both changed Tony collapsed face first into the middle of the bed, heedless of his wet hair. Abby badgered him under the covers then crawled in after him to towel his hair dry for him while he continued to cough. Tim went and warmed his hands by the fire until Abby looked up and beckoned him over. “Come on, Timmy, you’ll catch cold.” She held up the blankets.

McGee made a face at sharing the bed with Tony but got under the blankets, setting his shoulders against the headboard and crossing his arms over his chest. Abby was like a miniature furnace by herself, Tim discovered once there, her body radiated heat. She reached behind her and tugged McGee into her personal space, pulling his arm over her waist. McGee gave up and fit his knees into the bend of hers, wrapped his arm around her waist and laid his head on the pillow, snuggling into Abby’s back. He’d always liked that about Abby, how she could just make him fit with hardly any effort.

Ziva finally stood back from the fire, satisfied that she’d fed enough wood to the blaze to keep it going for a while, Tim supposed. She glanced at the three in the bed and the most fleeting expression of longing crossed her face before she mastered herself. He knew what would come next, Ziva would offer to man the perimeter rather than show she was tired or felt left out. He’d opened his mouth when Tony spoke.

“Come on, Ziva, you can share my spot,” Tony leered patting the four inches of mattress left. It wasn’t his best line but Tim could practically feel his own brain thawing so he figured Tony wasn’t much better off, especially after the vigorous towel drying Abby had applied to his hair.

“Yeah, Ziva, slumber party!” Abby encouraged, scooting right back against Tim so Tony could scoot back against her and make more room for Ziva.

McGee propped himself up on his left elbow and waved Ziva over with his right arm.

“Nobody’s going to attack in this storm unless it’s the abominable snowman,” Tony assured her.

Ziva rolled her eyes but sat on the edge near Tony and shucked her boots anyway. Her fingers flew over the lacings betraying her desire to get into the bed and get warm. Tim was glad she’d agreed. She discarded her coat before climbing into the bed.

“No word of caution, my ninja?” Tony teased as Ziva promptly yanked more of the covers her way.

“I believe the cold has a quelling effect on anything that might require caution,” Ziva said archly with a small smirk.

Tony gave a grunt of displeasure but made no further comment when he lapsed into a coughing fit again. They all watched him worriedly, his breathing sounding shaky. When he was done Ziva carefully put her head on his shoulder and threw her leg over both of his. Tony snaked an arm under her and around her waist tugging her more firmly into him.

Tim grinned and put his head back down on the pillow. Abby cuddled into him and Tim put his nose against the back of her neck. She yelped. “Jeez, McGee! That’s cold!”

“Sorry, Abs,” he apologized.

She gave him an affectionate smile over her shoulder that Tim returned and put her head back down on the pillow.

Tim reached up and began to undo her braids, carefully combing his fingers through the strands until they fell like ink across the white cotton of the pillowcase. He put his nose in her hair and she made no complaint. He inhaled, she smelled of something unusual and sweet which described her pretty well, he thought.

They were silent for long moments, warmth slowly seeping back into fingers and toes and noses, even Tony’s breathing seemed to even out, thankfully. It was quiet for so long McGee was beginning to think the others had all fallen asleep when Tony started singing again.

“Five in the bed and the little one said, roll over, roll over,” Tony sang softly making Abby giggle. Tim could feel that laugh reverberate straight through her chest into his, it made him smile. His hand on her stomach brushed against Tony’s ribs which were also shaking with mirth.

“Nobody better roll over or we’ll all be on the floor,” Ziva warned sleepily. Tim raised his head to find their resident ninja was being cuddled like a teddy bear by their Senior Field Agent and either she was too cold to mind or she simply didn’t care. Tony’s arm curled possessively around her waist, his head resting against her temple. Abby’s left hand had been resting on Tony’s chest but Tim watched as she reached out and twined her fingers with Ziva and Ziva allowed the gesture with a small smile.

“When do you think Gibbs will get here?” Abby wondered.

“I bet he’s already on his way,” Tony laughed, his hand making soothing strokes up and down Ziva’s arm. “His spidey sense must have been tingling like crazy. I can just imagine Ducky: What’s that Jethro? Timmy fell down a hole into a half frozen river?”

McGee laid back down and huffed in annoyance. “Well who was the idiot who followed me,” he groused.

“Couldn’t let you drown, McGoo, the head slaps for that would have been coming for years... years...” Tony mock shuddered so hard he shook the bed.

Tim rolled his eyes. “Like I’m not going to get blamed if you catch pneumonia,” he grumbled.

“McGee, Tony will be fine,” Ziva’s voice broke up the little squabble. “And no one will blame you, least of all Gibbs. It was an accident and we are all fortunate it did not end in tears,” she said and her voice brooked no further discussion.

Abby snuggled back into his front. She turned to look at him over her shoulder when she said, “I’m glad you’re okay, McGee. We could have lost you, today.” Her eyes were so sad when she said those words that McGee felt like a complete heel. He hugged Abby to him.

“I’m fine, Abs,” he assured her, hooking his chin over her shoulder so he could speak directly in her ear, “no worse for the wear.”

“I’m glad you’re okay too,” Tony rumbled, surprising everybody.

Tim opened his mouth to say something flip then decided against it just as quickly at Abby’s stern look.

“Thank you for coming after me, Tony,” he finally replied.

They were all quiet again until Tony burst out “Besides, can you imagine having to break in Dorneget? He’d crack within a week!”

Tim laughed and dropped his head back onto the pillow before Tony could say anything else, a buzzing warmth filling his chest at his teammates’ concern.


End file.
